WRAFs’ walk to mark 75 years reaches East Anglia

Some of the 600 former and serving WRAF members taking part in a 3,000 mile round-Britain relay did their bit through East Anglia this week.

WRAFs on Tour, marking 75 years of the women’s service, began in June in Stranraer and has come south visiting RAF stations on the way. It has already topped its £10,000 target for Macmillan Cancer Support and the Royal Air Force Association.

The East Anglian section began with a route from RAF Marham to Neatishead on Monday, going on to Watton on Tuesday, Wattisham for Wednesday and RAF Honington on Thursday.

Today they will walk on to RAF Lakenheath and Mildenhall then from there to Wyton on Saturday.

Where there are large distances between stations, or not enough women, the route will be covered by ‘virtual miles’ on exercise machines or swimming. Supporter Lin McAlinden from Bury is doing it in Canada and serving members are doing it in Afghanistan.

Hilary Dickinson, a former WRAF who now teaches at Bury’s King Edward VI School went straight from GCSE results to the Honington walk on Thursday.

“It’s grown like Topsy,” she said. “It all started as a joke and now people are asking what we’ll do next year.”

The WRAF forerunner, the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force was founded 75 years ago this year and became WRAF 10 years later. The W was dropped 20 years ago.